I’ve been wrestling for too long with this list of my favorite albums of the year. Hard! For what it’s worth, I’ll just say that I could make a case—hey, I’m a good lawyer, y’know—that any one of the, oh, top five albums is the year’s absolute best. I’ll just note, too, as I always do, that my list skews toward Americana, folk, and other roots-y music styles. But, hey, there are two percussion quartets and a string quartet, too, on this year’s list. I’m versatile.
10. Texas Piano Man, Robert Ellis – To be honest, I could’ve put any of several stellar Americana albums at this spot on the list. Hayes Carll’s What It Is. Steve Earle’s Guy. Justin Townes Earle’s The Saint of Lost Causes. In the end, I was drawn, once again (Ellis was on my Top 10 lists in 2014 and 2016), to the sunny, welcoming quality of Ellis’s voice. It’s a voice that, somehow or other, would’ve been right at home on a Greatest Hits of the 70s collection…. I mean that as a compliment, I swear! Anyway, Texas Piano Man‘s strong set of songs, often about Imperfect Love™, sure didn’t hurt, either. One of my highlights of 2019: seeing Ellis in concert at a small-ish Philly venue, the Foundry.
9. Perpetulum, Third Coast Percussion – Naturally enough, with this release, Third Coast Percussion emphasized “Perpetulum,” Philip Glass’s first(!)-ever work for percussion ensemble. That piece is subtle, varied, even perhaps a bit disjointed, but I keep coming back to it. The real star of the two-CD set, though, is the performance of TCP founding member David Skidmore’s “Aliens with Extraordinary Abilities.” “Aliens” takes the listener on a tour of rhythms through seven exquisite movements. It makes me feel alive. Marimba me, man. Below, check out the first movement, “Torched and Wrecked.” P.S. Perpetulum receive a well-deserved GRAMMY nomination for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.
8. JACK Quartet & So Percussion’s Songs That Are Hard to Sing – I haven’t seen many reviews of Songs, which just came out in November. The piece is an octet, composed by Dan Trueman for JACK, one of the leading young string quartets, and So, the rightly heralded percussion quartet. I don’t know that I have the right vocabulary to describe the music: It’s jagged and atonal and squeaky and unexpected—and altogether absorbing. It’s smartly performed by JACK and So. Highly recommended.
7. Room 41 by Paul Cauthen – There’s something deeply stirring (sexual? unsettling?) about Cauthen’s rich baritone. But that voice pairs well with these songs, written by Cauthen during some obviously difficult (post-relationship, natch) times of his own. The album is like a lost relic of 70s-era outlaw country. Think Waylon Jennings. Think funk. Think gospel-gone-awry (only slightly!). Highlights: “Cocaine Country Dancing,” “Prayed for Rain,” and, especially, “Holy Ghost Fire.”
6. Where Future Unfolds, Damon Locks’ Black Monument Ensemble – This is the third time I’ve written something here about the 1970s, and I don’t really know if that says more about me or the times. Where Future Unfolds, anyway, is overtly political music, performed by a collective, heavy on percussion and jazz and voice. And, hey, there’s even a children’s choir. Does that remind you of the 70s? To be fair, there’s also a bit of non-70s hip-hop in the mix. But I keep coming back to a time and place somewhere about, oh, 1974. No matter what you make of the message of Where Future Unfolds—this isn’t the place for that, really—the sound is stunning, like little else in the ether right now. Check out: “Solar Power,” “Statement of Intent/Black Monument Theme,” and “The Colors That You Bring.”
5. Median Age Wasteland by Hawksley Workman – Median Age Wasteland is a profoundly odd album. But that’s part of its charm, I suppose. Workman is a journeyman singer-songwriter, one with a helluva voice, and this collection of songs looks back—generally, anyway—to his Canadian childhood. “Battlefords” and “1983” examine very particular times/places in his life. “To Receive” looks back to a pivotal point in the history of the United Church of Canada (yes, really!), when it voted in 1988 to allow gay clergy, a vote that somehow (I’m truly not sure) captured the young Workman’s attention. Perhaps the weirdest song is “Oksana,” a sort-of conversation with figure skater Oksana Baiul, a childhood crush (naturally). “Birds in Train Stations,” a song about tourism and ennui, is absolutely one of the songs of the year for me. Another standout: “Stoners Never Dream.”
4. This Land, Gary Clark, Jr. – Clark is an accomplished singer and guitarist, and This Land strongly reflects both of these facts. And what range Clark has! The songs move oh-so-easily from R&B to reggae to funk and back to R&B again—and then on to two or three other genres. Zowie. All the while, the songs shine, and that’s true whether they’re about either of the album’s two themes, Clark’s own life (“The Guitar Man”) and the fight for social justice (“Feed the Babies,” “What About Us,” the title track). If I had a criticism (and is this really one?), I’d say that This Land feels like two or three albums. But two or three tours de force, y’know?
3. Omoiyari by Kishi Bashi – I wouldn’t have been confident that an album about Japanese internment during World War II could be, or should be, so, oh, fizzy and puckish. But, gosh, Omoiyari just works. And maybe that’s because the songs focus more on people and feelings than on naked injustice outright. (Question: Should ‘naked injustice’ sound poppy?) Regardless, Kishi Bashi’s beautiful falsetto guides the listener throughout. I shouldn’t forget to mention his violin work, either. The album manages somehow to be lush, thought-provoking, incisive, and hopeful all at the same time. This is Kishi Bashi’s best work. Highly, highly recommended. Check out: “Marigolds,” “Angeline,” and “Penny Rabbit and Summer Bear.” And everything else.
2. Caroline Spence’s Mint Condition – I was so impressed with singer-songwriter Caroline Spence’s 2017 album, Spades & Roses, so my expectations for Mint Condition were high. Expectations surpassed! Wow. These are songs about love, keeping it together, love, living on the road, and love. Hey, did I mention love? I guess I did. Yes, these are songs about real people, and they’re sung by someone who sounds real, too. Though Spence’s sound is certainly country, she’s not really channeling anyone else. There’s a gentleness in her voice—that, well, just plain suits a set of songs largely about love. (Did I mention the love?) You’re going to want to play the title track on your anniversary. Trust me. Until I have an anniversary, I’m going to put “Sit Here and Love Me” on replay. Swoon.
1. Tales of America by J.S. Ondara – Tales of America came out early in 2019, so I’ve had a fair bit of time to fall for it. And I sure have. Ondara was born in Kenya and came to the States only in 2013; his experience as a recent immigrant shines through Tales‘s songs. The album starts off powerfully: The first three songs—”American Dream,” “Torch Song,” and “Saying Goodbye”—are each near-perfect gems, showcasing both Ondara’s songwriting skills and his distinctive, almost-fragile, folk-y vocals. I can’t think of any album from any year that gets off to a stronger start, to be honest. And, happily enough, the promise of the album’s first 12 minutes is realized in what follows. I’m particularly fond of “Lebanon” and “Good Question.” There are simply no weak songs here. These are thoughtful, moving songs about love, about what it means to be an American, about what it means to be alive. Accessible and powerful, Tales of America has been my album of 2019.
Honorable Mentions: Goes West, William Tyler; Anna Egge’s Is It the Kiss; Years to Burn, Calexico & Iron and Wine; Hayes Carll’s What It Is; Guy by Steve Earle; From Another World, Jim Lauderdale; The Saint of Lost Causes, Justin Townes Earle; Efterklang’s Altid Sammen; Glitter Wolf, Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom; Yola’s Walk Through Fire; Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music, 1980-1990, various; and Come on up to the House, various.